A nurse is caring for a client who is dying of metastatic breast cancer. She has a prescription for an opioid pain medication PRN. The nurse is concerned that administering a dose of pain medication might hasten the client's death. Which of the following ethical principles should the nurse use to support the decision not to administer the medication?

A. "Crushing the medication might cause you to have a stomachache or indigestion."
This response provides a potential adverse effect of crushing the medication but does not directly address the reason why the aspirin should not be crushed.
B. "Crushing the medication is a good idea, and I can mix it in some ice cream for you."
This response suggests a solution to the client's difficulty swallowing medication but does not address the safety or efficacy concerns associated with crushing enteric-coated aspirin.
C. "Crushing is unsafe, as it destroys the ingredients in the medication."
While crushing enteric-coated aspirin may alter its release properties, it does not necessarily "destroy" the ingredients. This statement may be too absolute and not entirely accurate.
D. "Crushing the medication would release all the medication at once, rather than over time."
This response accurately explains why enteric-coated aspirin should not be crushed. Enteric coating is designed to prevent dissolution of the medication in the stomach and instead release it in the small intestine to reduce the risk of gastric irritation or ulceration. Crushing the medication would bypass this delayed release mechanism, potentially leading to increased gastric irritation or adverse effects.

A. Battery involves the unauthorized or harmful touching of another person without their consent. Restraint without proper justification could potentially lead to a charge of battery, but the situation described does not involve actual physical contact.
B. Assault involves the threat of bodily harm to another person, creating fear or apprehension that the harm will be carried out. While the threat of restraint might cause fear, actual restraint is necessary to constitute assault.
C. Invasion of privacy refers to the unauthorized intrusion into an individual's private affairs or the public disclosure of private information. It does not apply to the act of physically restraining a client.
D. False imprisonment occurs when an individual is unlawfully restrained or confined against their will. In this scenario, the provider's directive to restrain the client against her wishes constitutes false imprisonment if the restraint is not justified by the client's medical condition or pose an immediate danger to herself or others.